Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting exhibition at the Halcyon Gallery of new figurative work by Bob Dylan. These works were based on film stills and the title comes from the cinematic technique tells a story through the foreground, middle, and background, rather than focussing on one visual plane over another. They were cropped like film in enhanced colours reminding me of movies of the 1950s. I liked the paintings and they inevitably reminded me of Hopper and 1930s/40s American documentary photography but I guess that is because those influenced the cinema of the time. It like the work was coming full circle from art, through cinema and back to art. Closes 21 January 2021

Interesting exhibition at the Halcyon Gallery of work by Bob Dylan with an emphasis on his metalwork. I loved his gates made of bits and pieces of iron work such as cogs, pullies and tools within a gate shape. I particularly like one with a mincer on it and a spanner to hold it closed.   In the description he says that gates can shut you in or shut you out and describes seeing iron work all around his as her grew up, seeing “The kinds of images which tattoo themselves onto am impressionable mind”. The exhibition also included others sets of work such as his Drawn Blank series of paintings of life on the road giving a glimpse into a private world. Downstairs were his series Revisionist Art with mocked up magazine covers and Gangster Doors, shot up car doors with posters of 1930s gangsters. I found the iron work the most interesting pieces and certainly preferred them to the portraits shown at the National Portrait Gallery earlier this year. Reviews Telegrap...

Small exhibition of works by Bob Dylan at the National Portrait Gallery. There were 12 pictures of people representing an amalgam of features real and imagined and given both a figurative title and a made up name. Although you know they are made up you start to identify with them and see people you know in them. However I am not sure I see them as portraits and I think they do stretch the definition. Reviews Guardian Telegraph Independent  

Display of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery taken by Barry Feinstein on Bob Dylan’s 1966 tour of Europe. These photos reminded you of how good looking and fresh faced Dylan was. My favorite were those of him with Liverpool children. The BBC have recently found these children and recreated the picture now.